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Lest We Forget: Swede Vejtasa, VF-51 (Part 2)

Swede Vejtasa

At the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942, Stanley W. "Swede" Vejtasa was one of several American dive bomber pilots who scored 12 direct hits on the Japanese carrier Shoho , sending her to the bottom. This in itself was no small achievement—it was, after all, the first carrier lost in the war by either side. But the very next day Swede would find himself unexpectedly confronted with a new challenge, one that would today be termed "out of the box."

While flying anti-torpedo patrol in the vicinity of the USS Yorktown (CV-5), Swede and the other pilots in his group were attacked by a swarm of 12 Japanese Zeros. No U.S. fighters were available, so the dive-bomber pilots took on the attackers. Outnumbered and outgunned, the American SBDs flew a full 100 mph slower than the Zeros, and a number of the courageous Americans were quickly shot down by the Japanese fighters. Yet, with his rear-gunner effectively covering his flanks, Swede adroitly maneuvered his aircraft to bring the attackers into his forward gun sights. By the time the melee was over, Swede had managed not only to survive but to down three of the Japanese fighters! For this amazing action, Swede was awarded the Navy Cross. And to make this feat even more impressive, this was his second Navy Cross—a month before, near Tulagi, Vejtasa had earned his first while helping to sink three Japanese ships and shooting down an enemy fighter.

Swede's skill as a fighter pilot now fully recognized, he was soon transferred to VF-10, a fighter squadron flying Wildcats and known as "The Grim Reapers." On 26 October, while flying a combat air patrol during the Battle of Santa Cruz, Swede intercepted a squadron of enemy dive-bombers screaming down on the USS Enterprise (CV-6) and quickly shot down two. The enemy bombers scattered, but almost immediately Vejtasa sighted 11 Japanese torpedo bombers making a run on "the Big E," and again he charged in. This time he shot down five and broke up the attack, quite possibly saving one of the war's most famous carrier from destruction. These seven kills in one day earned him a third Navy Cross. The only carrier pilot in World War II to earn Navy Crosses for both dive bombing and aerial combat, Swede Vejtasa went on serve the Navy for more than 30 years, ultimately commanding the USS Constellation (CV-64) and elected into the Carrier Aviation Hall of Fame in 1987.

—Lieutenant Commander Thomas J. Cutler, U.S. Navy (Retired)

VF-51 (Part 2)

After a second Western Pacific deployment with CVW-15 on board the USS Coral Sea (CV-43), VF-51 upgraded to the F-4N Phantom II. In April 1975, the Screaming Eagles covered the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy and advisers in South Vietnam and Cambodia. During May the squadron also flew strikes against Khmer Rouge forces in Cambodia during efforts to free the SS Mayaguez .

In 1976, VF-51 operated over the Mediterranean Sea with CVW-19 on board the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CV-42), the carrier's twilight deployment and the last in F-4 fighters for the squadron. The Screaming Eagles relinquished their F-4Ns for F-14A Tomcat interceptors in 1977 and rejoined CVW-15 for its remaining 18 years.

In 1979, VF-51 deployed to the Indian Ocean on board the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) during the embassy hostage crisis in Iran and the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan. After a subsequent Indian Ocean deployment on board the Kitty Hawk, VF-51 transferred with CVW-15 in 1982 to the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) to begin an eight-year association, beginning with a round-the-world deployment through the and the Mediterranean, Indian, and Pacific oceans.

During the next three deployments, VF-51's operations included intercepts of Soviet aircraft over the northern Pacific and Bering Sea. In 1984, VF-51 became the first F-14 squadron to intercept the new TU-22M Backfire long-range strike aircraft.

In 1988, VF-51 flew cover for Navy units supporting Operation Earnest Will, the escort of Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War.

VF-51 moved with CVW-15 back to the Kitty Hawk in 1991. During a 1992 deployment to the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf, the Screaming Eagles flew cover for Operation Restore Hope, a humanitarian relief effort in Somalia. Later in the deployment, after Iraqi aircraft violated the no-fly zone over southern Iraq, VF-51 staged a detachment of Tomcats to Dharan, Saudi Arabia while the Kitty Hawk steamed to the Persian Gulf with the remainder of the squadron. The unit covered the Kitty Hawk's 13 January 1993 strike against Iraqi targets.

On its final deployment, in 1994, VF-51 operated off the Korean peninsula during tensions with North Korea. The Screaming Eagles returned home to NAS Miramar, California, in December 1994. The squadron was disestablished on 31 March 1995 as part of the post-Cold War draw-down.